JRS22 wrote:Second steep of 2010 Genmai Cha from O-Cha. Not as good as new but it was stored in a tightly sealed double-lidded canister so still quite enjoyable.

I tried and failed to convince myself the old tea was worth spending a chunk of my limited tea allotment on. I included a fresh bag of the 2013 genmaicha with matcha in my most recent O-Cha order. Now I'm reminded of how interesting and delicious good genmaicha can be with just the right mix of toasted rice and sencha with a dusting of matcha.

O-Cha's Tsuen Gyokuro Yume no Ukihashi, when brewed at 130, 135, and 140 degrees F, using 1.2g per 1 oz of water, for 1 min. 40 sec and 2 min does not taste as good as Gyokuro Superior from Hibiki-an, which costs $31.00 per 200g (shipping included) vs $54.00 per 100g for the O-Cha Gyokuro. Has anyone made this comparison? What do you think about the O-Cha Gyokuro?

I have had the Hibiki-an Gyokuro Superior ... it is not "superior," IMHO. I could not drink the stuff ... just tasted really off to me. It has been at least 5 years since I had it ... maybe it is improved. At the same time, I had their Fukamushi Superior which I enjoyed at the time. In fact, I have had many of H-A's selections.

Although I have not had the Yume selection from O-Cha yet, one thing I do know is that so far they have all been a good price value ... IMHO. Comparing the Yume to the "Superior" is probably in line with comparing a fine bottle of vintage wine to gallon jug wine. And while the jug wine may bring a degree of satisfaction, once you develop the taste for good wine, suddenly the jug wine tastes ... not so good.

In order to make this one shine, I would suggest increasing the ratio to 2:1 or even higher, start with a cooler 125* for around 90 seconds ... preheating all your teaware ... brew vessel, cups. Lower ratios do not do higher end Gyokuro justice.

Second steep a bit warmer and 30 seconds or less. Increasing time and temp for further steepings.

Hi Chip,Thanks. I will try your suggestions and report back to you. When I was in Tokyo tasting teas many years ago, I remember that there was a lot of Gyokuro and a little water in the pot, and that the brewing time was no more than 30 seconds. The person was swirling the pot the entire time. Maybe they lowered the brewing temperature and increased the brewing time so that less Gyokuro, which is expensive, is required.

First, 30 seconds is in no way enough time to brew gyokuro so don't do that. It's more like 2 minutes or even more.

Yume no Ukihashi will beat the pants off of most gyokuro if you brew it correctly. I can say that it will not taste stellar until you have the procedure down correctly. All tea ware must be pre-warmed, etc. While it's not rocket science, brewing gyokuro correctly is something that takes a bit of practice.

Please read this page in case you have not done so yet (or another one like it). This proceedure was taught to me by professionals while I lived in Uji. The details are important.

A long pleasurable morning of drinking Japanese tea. First up, my favorite Japanese green, Karigane Sencha Otsuusan from O-Cha. Then, inspired by Kevangogh's post I moved on to gyokuro. I have O-Cha's Yame gyo in the house because I decided that this year I would begin with the lowest cost gyo and move up the cost scale while perfecting my gyo brewing technique.

I have an adagio varietal kettle with a low temperature setting of 150°. I realized after reading Kevangogh's instructions that I've been over-cooling the water by pouring it back and forth many times. Today I poured the water from the kettle to the water cooler and then immediately into the pre-heated shib. This made a dramatic difference in my results. The brewed tea tasted almost as good as the dry tea smells.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. The info in the O-Cha tutorial says to use 1g of gyokuro per 1 oz of water. The package says 1.2g per 1 oz of water. I tried 2g per 1 oz of water with the water at 125 degrees F and a brew time of 90 sec. I use a very accurate thermometer, and all cups are warm. The taste, smell, mouth feel, and lingering taste still do not compare with Hibiki-an's inexpensive Gyokuro Superior. I have one more O-Cha Gyokuro to try: Tsurujirushi.

Some mornings I have espresso to begin the workday, but with vacation starting I'm going green every morning for the next while. Today it's O-Cha Kagoshima Sencha Sae Midori (fukamushi), 1tsp, 79c, for 45 sec (2nd steep at 25 sec). This is the 2nd fukamushi I've tried--the first being Den's.

I'm planning to explore the world of sencha/gyokuro with some upcoming orders, I'm open to your recommendations and brew parameters

Another session with O-Cha Yame gyokuro this morning. I reread the tutorial so today I didn't preheat the pot and the result was even better than yesterday. I enjoy watching the leaves open and float to the surface but not as much as I enjoy actually drinking the tea.

davidglass wrote:Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. The info in the O-Cha tutorial says to use 1g of gyokuro per 1 oz of water. The package says 1.2g per 1 oz of water. I tried 2g per 1 oz of water with the water at 125 degrees F and a brew time of 90 sec. I use a very accurate thermometer, and all cups are warm. The taste, smell, mouth feel, and lingering taste still do not compare with Hibiki-an's inexpensive Gyokuro Superior. I have one more O-Cha Gyokuro to try: Tsurujirushi.

Like what you drink, drink what you like ... however ... based upon my almost 10 years of drinking Gyokuro (and I am still learning) (and I am not trying to sound condescending) ...

... this is a mystery to me as I have tried virtually every Gyokuro from both O-Cha and Hibiki-An. I have always found a logical taste progression as I go up the scale ... and find them each to be a very good value for the price points.

The low cost Superior cannot even be mentioned in the same sentence as the higher end O-Cha offerings I have greatly enjoyed. They are simply not in the same ballpark, Gyokuro class. Nor should they be given their price points.

I will order the O-Cha Yume TODAY and report back. However I won't be buying 200 grams of the Hibiki-An Superior which is the minimum amount one can buy (which should be a tip off as to the quality level of the selection). I did this once and could not get through a fraction of it. Frankly, the taste reminded me of the taste one gets in your mouth when you have a sinus infection (which is what I posted years ago when I had it).

... however if you enjoy the Superior, you will save $$$, but I suspect over time your taste buds will crave the higher end selections.

JRS22 wrote:Another session with O-Cha Yame gyokuro this morning. I reread the tutorial so today I didn't preheat the pot and the result was even better than yesterday. I enjoy watching the leaves open and float to the surface but not as much as I enjoy actually drinking the tea.

So, what temp was it before you poured the water into the pot? I am thinking that since the pot was not preheated, the water temp could be higher than if the pot was preheated as the water will cool faster in a non preheated pot.

I tend to be on the cooler end of the spectrum, but I always preheat ... and also always go at least 2:1.

So I am curious to learn how you achieved better results by not preheating the pot this time.

Noonie wrote:Some mornings I have espresso to begin the workday, but with vacation starting I'm going green every morning for the next while. Today it's O-Cha Kagoshima Sencha Sae Midori (fukamushi), 1tsp, 79c, for 45 sec (2nd steep at 25 sec). This is the 2nd fukamushi I've tried--the first being Den's.

I'm planning to explore the world of sencha/gyokuro with some upcoming orders, I'm open to your recommendations and brew parameters

Since I am ordering the Yume Gyokuro from O-Cha, I think I will reorder this year's Sae Midori as it was pretty wonderful fukamushi!!!